Much of the information presented in this page comes from a training seminar given at the Lee Mannix Center for Canine Behavior. Lee Mannix emphasizes a thorough knowledge of dog behavior as a precursor to successful training.
For information on correcting negative behavior and training recall, email haha@uts.cc.utexas.edu
For information on training sit, stay, fetch, and other pet care tips, click here.
For information on housetraining, click here.
For information on
crate training click here. You will also want to use a Kong toy with the crate.
How Dogs Learn
Dogs learn in sessions of 4-6 units and in two time frames: disassociation time (2 minutes) and recovery time (18 minutes). Disassociation time is how long it takes the dog to distinguish one event from another. Recovery time is how long it takes a dog to "settle down" once he's entered a reactive, excited state (for example whenever he to a new place, whenever you come home from work, etc.) Therefore when you are training a new command you should see results after 4-6 repetitions, and you should always leave 2 minutes between repetitions. As you read through some of the Lee Mannix handouts, you'll notice that these numbers--2 and 18--are very important. If you don't leave a 2-minute break between training sessions, for example, your dog will not be able to tell the difference between the previous activity and the current one.
Rules of Training
The first rule of training is DO NO HARM. The second is to tell the dog when he's done something right or wrong. Training works on a reward and penalty system. A reward is anything the dog will work for, and a penalty is anything the dog would want to avoid. Remember that dogs perceive most kinds of attention as a reward, whether positive or negative (yelling is still attention). With food, you'll want to use the least possible reward your dog will work for (e.g. a kibble) so that he does not become accustomed to getting the more expensive treat. Penalties can be almost anything, depending on your dog: e.g. baths/water, tinfoil, the sight/sound of the vacuum cleaner.
Changing Behavior
Thorndike's Law of Effect: Behavior changes because of consequences, and behavior is changed by traumatic events.
There are four main ways to change a behavior:
The quickest way to strengthen a behavior is to randomize the reward. That's why, so often, bad behaviors are easily reinforced because we react in different ways depending on our mood (sometimes we may think it is funny or cute, sometimes we may yell, sometimes we may ignore the dog). However, this concept does and should apply to strengthening positive behavior. Vary your treats, also whether or not you give a treat, and your dog will perform much more consistently.
The best way to extinguish a behavior, then, is to give the same response every time. This is the basis for correcting negative behaviors and why consistency from everyone in the household is so important. This is also why giving the same treat every time (such as a kibble or saltine) will eventually discourage your dog from performing. As long as you keep responding consistently to negative behavior and adding variety to your rewards, your dog should demonstrate good progress during his training.
The Only 5 Commands You'll Ever NeedAll other commands are either an extension of one of the above (like stay, an extension of sit), or are simply for fun or show (like roll over).